


The Secret Incident

by Blairdiggory



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7028569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blairdiggory/pseuds/Blairdiggory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Isaac hurt a member of the club all those years ago, and how Max finally convinced him to come to terms with it</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Secret Incident

“I thought I’d find you here.”  
Isaac, who has been slumped in one of the abandoned mansion’s cushy chairs, straightens his back at the sound of Max’s voice. He uses the chair’s arm to support his weight as he digs himself out of the cushions and turns to face the other boy.   
“How did you know I would be here?” Isaac asks.   
“I didn’t.” Max shrugs. “I just have no idea where you live. So I came here to try to find you.”  
“You haven’t come to apologize for the way you’ve been acting towards me lately, have you?” Isaac said dryly.   
“What? No, listen. I have every right to hang out with Isabel and Ed. It doesn’t mean I like you any less-”  
“They hate me, Max. And I hope you didn’t come all this way to lecture me,” Isaac snarls.  
Max fights his instinct to snap back a sarcastic comment and walks over to Isaac.   
“I came to ask what happened between you guys,” Max says slowly. “Because I’m sick of being kept in the dark about this supposed secret incident that happened. And I want to hear it from you first.”  
Isaac’s brows knit together.   
“Isabel hasn’t told you the story yet?”  
“No. I think she knows how much it bothers you and respects you enough to not spill what happened without your permission.”  
That stuns Isaac. Isabel’s always been rash and blunt. It’s in her nature to tell Max everything, twisting the details with her limited knowledge of the situation. She barely trusts Isaac, but maybe that smidgen of trust is enough. His stunned silence must have lasted too long because Max continues.   
“It’s cool, man. You don’t have to tell me anything. If it bugs you that much, I’ll ignore the whole thing-”  
“You have to promise this won’t change how you feel about me,” Isaac says. “I’ll tell you everything, but you have to promise…”  
“I can promise that I won’t make any assumptions about you based on this, and I can promise that I’ll remember how much you’re trying to change,” Max says.   
Isaac mulls this over and nods. It’s probably all he deserves anyway. He motions Max to sit down on one of the chairs in the room, and Isaac goes back to his own chair, sinking into the cushions as if he can hide there. He decides where to start as Max stares at him expectantly.   
“I was in sixth grade when I became a spectral. Mr. Spender teaches seventh grade, and Isabel and Ed were a grade below me, so I hadn’t met any of them yet. Mr. Spender was there when I got possessed. He and some of Mr. Guerra’s students were chasing down my spirit, and when they finally destroyed it, its remains got to me before they were able to destroy them too.  
“Since Mr. Spender saw that I got possessed, he encouraged Ed and Isabel to become my friends so that when I showed signs of becoming a spectral, they could help me. But I didn’t know that. I just thought they wanted to be my friends, and I didn’t even guess that they had some ulterior motive.”  
Max seemed to want to interrupt, probably to say something about how they just wanted to help Isaac and their motives didn’t matter, but he thought better of it. Isaac faltered, but continued.   
“It was weird for a sixth grader to hang out with anyone in elementary school, but I felt like I was doing them a favor by being their friend.”   
Isaac smirks.   
“Stupid sixth grade me was so arrogant. I thought they looked up to me like some hero. I think they knew how I felt about them, but they still stuck with me to try to help me. How horrible is that?”  
Max just nods in understanding.  
“I started seeing shades a couple weeks in. It freaked me out so bad. I refused to tell any of my friends, but Ed and Isabel caught on. They came over to my house one day, and they cornered me in my room. They asked me if I was seeing purple things, and I denied it. But they kept asking, and I finally told them what was going on. They told me I was a spectral and that I was seeing ghosts and spirits. Then they told me how they knew this was going to happen and that’s why they became friends with me.”  
Isaac’s face is scrunching up. He’s embarrassed and tired.   
“And I got so angry. Here I was, thinking they looked up to me and thought I was cool. Even though I thought they were annoying little kids, I still thought of them as friends. But at that moment, I realized they really never had any choice in the matter. Their parents made them do it. And at the time, I had maybe two or three other friends, so it really hurt to know that I had never been anyone’s first choice as a friend.  
Isaac’s spectral energy is flaring up.  
“Something inside me snapped into place. My spectral powers came out. My spectral energy and my weather powers exploded. Isabel got out of the way in time, but Ed…”   
Isaac is shaking. His eyes are leaking.  
“Ed got a full blast of them right in the face. It broke his nose, but the worst of it… You know those thick glasses he wears? That’s because of me. It’s all because of me.”  
Tears of rage and remorse are dripping down Isaac’s face like summer rain. He sniffs, trying to control his breathing.   
“And now they hate me. Simple as that. I hurt Ed, so he can’t forgive me. I hurt Isabel’s best friend, so she can’t forgive me. And Mr. Spender doesn’t trust me period. None of them are on my side.”  
Max gets up and kneels next to Isaac. He doesn’t try to take his hand or pat his shoulder. He doesn’t touch him at all because he doesn’t think that’s the right thing to do. He just stays next to his friend while his face clears up.  
“You know, I don’t think you should blame yourself for this,” Max says.   
“What? Max, if I hadn’t been so arrogant about this whole thing, if I’d just kept my cool-”  
“You were just becoming a spectral. I know I couldn’t control my spectral energy to begin with. When I hit that bat spirit, I had zero control over what I was doing. You didn’t do it on purpose. That’s what matters.”  
“If that’s what matters,” Isaac coughs out. “Then why haven’t they forgiven me? Why haven’t I forgiven me?”  
“You can’t decide you didn’t hurt someone when you did,” Max explains. “And you can’t give excuses either. But you can genuinely apologize. Explain what happened, and explain that you’ve learned from this.”  
A laugh bubbles up from Isaac’s throat.   
“Have I really learned from this?”  
“Yeah, I think you have. I made a promise to you that I’d remember you were trying to change. I think you need to remember it, too.”  
Isaac’s crying all over again. He suddenly leans over and hugs Max around the neck. Max puts his chin on Isaac’s head, not sure what to say, but whispers comforting words. “You’ve learned,” Max says. “This doesn’t change my opinion of you. They’ll understand.”  
They can’t see Doorman, who is outside and listening intently. Maybe, Doorman thinks, Isaac did not only need a mentor. He needed an equal. Doorman watches as Isaac lifts his head, Max pats his back, pulls him in for another quick hug. The two boys walk out of the abandoned mansion, hand in hand, and Doorman knows Isaac will finally be okay


End file.
